Regional High School Basketball Roundup

Posted: Saturday, February 17, 2001

Hedley 52 - Follett 50

Lauren Hill and Kasi Woodard hit crucial 3-pointers late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to lead Hedley past Follett 52-50 in a Class 1A Division II sectional tournament game on Friday at Canyon High School.

Follett, which ended its season 17-11, led for much of the game before Hedley's pressure defense forced some key turnovers in the final period and converted them into points as they erased a 40-34 deficit after three quarters.

Hedley, which improved to 28-3, will meet Whitharral today at 5 p.m. Whitharral jumped out to a 18-3 lead after one period and defeated New Home 42-35.

Hill led Hedley with 14 points, including three treys, while Rebekah Howard added 13.

LEVELLAND - Gruver was within one point of Sudan at halftime, but the Lady Greyhounds went cold from the field in the second half, shooting just 20 percent, and fell to the Hornettes 42-31 Friday morning in a Class 1A Division I sectional tournament semifinal at the Texan Dome.

Gruver, which ended its season at 23-9, trailed Sudan just 16-15 at intermission but was hampered in the second half by 5-of-24 shooting. The Lady Greyhounds, who were 2-of-17 from the 3-point line, also had 23 turnovers. Meanwhile, Sudan, behind Lisa Edwards and Sheila Huey, gradually pulled away.

Edwards had a team-high 11 points, while Huey had 10 points and eight rebounds. The Hornettes (24-5) advance to meet Roby, a 49-46 winner against Garden City, at 6 tonight in the sectional tournament final.

Lisa Johnson led Gruver with 11 points and was 4-of-5 from the field. She was the only Lady 'Hound in double figures. Sammie Stavlo had seven points. while Teal Armes led Gruver with six rebounds.

VERNON - Clarendon, fighting foul trouble the entire game, came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat Albany 66-58 in a Class 2A girls' area-round basketball game at Vernon High School.

Clarendon (26-4) advances to the regional quarterfinals against Friona, a 52-47 overtime winner against Olney. The game is scheduled for Tuesday at Canyon High School, with the time to be determined later. Albany's season ended at 18-11.

The 20th-ranked Lady Broncos found themselves in foul trouble and behind most of the game, including 45-43 heading into the final quarter. But they turned the tables on Olney in the last eight minutes.

"We started relaxing, and they (Albany) started doing more fouling once we got the ball," Clarendon coach Steve Schmidt said. "We got some free-throw chances, and the girls did a good job of putting them in."

Clarendon got off to a sluggish start and had difficulty with Albany's size. Clarendon encountered early foul trouble and trailed 32-28 at halftime.

"They shot a lot of free throws in the first half because we weren't able to play with as much pressure as we like," Schmidt said. "We came out with a little more fire in the second half."

Kelley Lemley paced Clarendon with 24 points, including a 10-of-10 effort from the free-throw line and two 3-point goals. Teammates Jeney Aduddell and Geri Butler each scored 12.

BROWNFIELD - The River Road Lady Wildcats overcame a slow start and went on to defeat the Crane Lady Birds in a Class 3A area-round game at Brownfield High School.

The Lady Wildcats, 15-11 for the season, advance to the regional quarterfinals against Shallowater. Crane finished its season 16-14.

The Lady Birds led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter behind the hot shooting of point guard Lauren Abbott. Abbott, a 5-foot-6 senior, gave the River Road defense a tough time. She finished with a game-high 24 points, three points under her average. She hit three 3-pointers.

The River Road defense took control in the second quarter, however, limiting the Lady Birds to four points. Meanwhile, the Lady Wildcats put 13 points on the board, taking a 25-19 halftime lead.

"We got off to a slow start," said River Road coach Angela Greeson. "We started to force a lot of things. I think a lot of it was them being nervous with it being an area game. It took us a while to settle down."

Brandee Davison led River Road with 20 points, hitting 10 of 14 shots from the floor. Camille Kile was next with 12 points. Chris Swaim and Carrie Mullins scored eight points each in the winning effort.

WOLFFORTH - Friona weaved the ball inside to its post players and outlasted Olney 52-47 in overtime in a girls' Class 2A area-round game at Frenship High School.

Friona (23-8) advances to meet Clarendon, a 66-58 area-round winner against Albany, in a regional quarterfinal game on Tuesday at Canyon High School. The time will be determined later. Olney's season ended at 18-8.

Olney's Kami Youngblood, who hit 14 of 18 from the foul line, made a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime at 40.

During overtime, all four Friona posts - Kayla Smiley, Kristie Jack, Mandy Daniel and Amy Murphree - scored from inside to give the Squaws eight of their 12 points.

"We were able to get the ball inside to the posts, and they converted key baskets," Friona coach Richard North said.

However, Friona missed several easy shots early in the game as Olney took a 23-17 lead at halftime.

"They are really athletic and got a lot of speed," North said. "It took us a while to adjust on defense."

The Squaws regrouped, though, in the second half and held the Cubs, whose season ended at 18-8, to no field goals in the third quarter to knot the score at 27 going into the final period.

Jack led the Squaws with 15 points, Smiley had 12, and Murphree added 10.

The victory sends Dimmitt (18-15) into the regional quarterfinals against Perryton. That game will be played on Tuesday at the WT Fieldhouse at a time to be determined.

Slaton, which ended its season 23-5, led 15-12 after one quarter and 24-20 at halftime, before Dimmitt rallied. The Bobbies held Slaton to only five points in the third period as they grabbed a 31-29 advantage. In the final period, Dimmitt outscored Slaton by a 19-14 margin to pull away.

Slaton was led by Brittany Crouch's 17 points. Aissa Trotty was the only other player in double figures with 10 points.

LEVELLAND - A frustrating third quarter, which saw Stratford score just four points, proved the Lady Elks' undoing as they fell to Smyer 37-31 in a Class 1A Division I sectional tournament semifinal game at the Texan Dome.

In a game where points were hard to come by for both teams, Stratford trailed just 20-16 to start the third quarter. But the Lady Elks could not find the range, not only in the third period but in the entire second half.

The Lady Elks, who ended their season at 23-7, shot just 28 percent in the second half (6-of-21). Smyer upped its lead to 31-20 heading into the fourth period, an advantage that proved too much for the Lady Elks to overcome.

Jessica Young led Stratford with 11 points and a game-high five steals. She was the only Lady Elk in double figures. Carly Matthews had six points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, while Kara Brownlee and Ashley Brown had five points each.

Smyer, which improved to 28-2, was led by Kim Chaffin's 20 points. Chaffin had more than half of her team's points as she was 7-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-6 in 3-point tries. Smyer will face Robert Lee, a 36-30 winner against Iraan, at 6 p.m. today.